Here is the new Mini John Cooper Works… electric

The communication from Mini is primarily through China, as the historically British manufacturer produces its electric city car there.

No official communication from Mini in Europe. To learn more about the new Mini in John Cooper Works trim, one must turn to China, where its unveiling is completely official. The message is clear: the primary target audience is no longer European. By making the choice to produce its city car in China, a decision made before the establishment of new customs tariffs, the BMW group has shown a lack of discernment.

In a rush, a production line in the historic Oxford factory in England will be relaunched in the coming months to “bypass” the customs issue. In the meantime, no Mini Cooper electric car is eligible for an ecological bonus in France, making it completely irrelevant. And even more so against a Renault R5 that is more spacious, offers greater range, and is significantly cheaper.

Nevertheless, Mini continues its usual trim schemes with the introduction of a spicy version called John Cooper Works. It has been learned from China that its power rises to 190 kW or 258 horsepower to the front wheels. For comparison, the Cooper SE claims 160 kW or 217 horsepower, resulting in a gain of 40 horsepower. The top speed remains limited to 200 km/h.

300 km of real range?

Mini China reveals that it will retain the same original battery of 49 kWh net, but remains silent on the range. Given that the Mini Cooper SE boasts 389 km in a mixed cycle in Europe, one can reasonably think that this value will drop to around 370 km at best. Therefore, in real driving, the range will fall below the symbolic mark of 300 km if one chooses to take advantage of the power offered by this version. Otherwise, it is pointless to spend a large sum on a Mini JCW.

Moreover, what price can we expect for this high-performance city car? The Cooper SE in JWC trim currently costs 45,790 euros in France, so one would likely need to spend around 50,000 euros for the most powerful engine.

In China and elsewhere, is this really a reasonable product?

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